


Nightfall

by SailorSol



Category: NCIS
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Alternate Universe - Family, Angst, Background Case, Character Death, Death, Families of Choice, Gen, M/M, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-18
Updated: 2011-05-18
Packaged: 2017-10-19 13:17:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/201270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorSol/pseuds/SailorSol
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Family AU. When NCIS Special Agent Gibbs and his team began investigating how Marine Corps weapons were ending up in the hands of a local gang, he could never have imagined that his family would end up caught in the crossfire.</p><p>Parallels episodes 2x23-3x02.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nightfall

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of the [Hope is Such a Bait](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/hopencis) 'verse, co-written with [Hagar](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Hagar/pseuds/Hagar). You should read her story, [Find Your Way In](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/hopencis/works/194810) first, though this story takes place first, chronologically.
> 
> The internal chronology of this story is meant to be screwy. But you should all know what's going to happen, more or less.
> 
>  **Additional warnings:** Attempted rape, attempted suicide, canon character deaths, explicit violence, underage drinking, teenage violence

Tony doesn’t like to talk about his problems; when pressed, he’ll admit they’re there, usually with a joke or a movie reference or something that will make whoever’s on the receiving end dismiss his problems as being much less significant than they really are. That’s how he likes it, people underestimating him or writing him off as unimportant; he learned at an early age that it was better to be ignored, usually, and the lesson stuck even through his teenaged years and into college. And sometimes the easiest way to be ignored was to be the center of attention, loud and brash and obnoxious.

Most people outside his family didn’t understand that, and sometimes people _inside_ his family didn’t understand that, either. But that was usually a result of how screwed up his family was. They were far from traditional, with two fathers and four adopted kids, counting Tony himself. And being the oldest meant he was stuck playing parent when Dad was at work and Pa was buried in a case.

No, that wasn’t right, though. There were only three of them now, and Tony had failed everyone on that, worst of all Kate, and he still couldn’t look his Pa in the eye, not without thinking _It should have been me_ and wondering if Pa thought so too.

***

“Damn it, Tony, I asked you to make sure the car had gas in the tank!” Kate swore at her brother. She was running late as it was, and now she would have to go out of her way to get gas, unless she wanted to end up on the side of the Beltway waiting for AAA to show up to tow her to a station.

“Sorry,” Tony replied, though he didn’t sound the least bit repentant. The jerk didn’t even get up from where he was lounging on the couch watching a basketball game. “I forgot.”

“You could at least _pretend_ to be happy for me, Tony.” She didn’t have time for this argument, _again_ , but she hated knowing that her brother didn’t approve of her boyfriend. She watched as Tony plastered on one of his biggest, phoniest smiles.

“Have fun. Don’t stay out too late or Pa will send one of his agents to fetch you, and I won’t even stop him this time,” Tony told her. He almost sounded like he meant it, which was about the best Kate could ask for right now. She sighed.

“I swear, next time you forget to fill up the car, I’m breaking your arm as a reminder,” she warned, not giving him a chance to reply before heading out to meet Ari for dinner.

***

Ari rose from the seat he had taken at the counter along one wall, straightening his uniform and tucking his cover under his left arm. The leggy brunette he’d been following for two weeks now had just paid for her cup of coffee and was weaving her way through the tables in the small café towards her usual spot by the window where she read the international section of the _Washington Globe_ every day.

He picked up his own copy of the newspaper, timing things perfectly so that he bumped into her, spilling her latte.

“Damn it,” she swore, mostly under her breath. Ari had to bite back a sharp laugh, plastering on a look of embarrassment instead.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, miss, I didn’t see you,” he told her. She was scowling down at the coffee stain on her blouse, trying to dab at it with a napkin. Ari offered her another one. “Please, let me buy you a replacement coffee, and I’ll give you my information to pay for the dry cleaning.”

She looked up at him. He saw her take note of his uniform, neatly pressed per regulation. Ari knew she would be inclined to trust him because of it; after all, her father was a Marine, too. Retired, of course, and working as an NCIS special agent; Leroy Jethro Gibbs was the real reason why Ari had been following his eldest daughter Kate.

“Lance Corporal Ari Haswari,” he introduced himself, offering out a hand. She gave him another critical look before sighing.

“Kate,” she replied shortly. Clearly her father had taught her to be cautious around strange men. But Ari enjoyed the challenge, had been anticipating it, even. If the Marine Corps had taught him nothing else, it had taught him patience and the importance of playing the long game. “And don’t worry about it, I’ve got a clean shirt in my car.”

“Please, at least let me replace your coffee,” Ari insisted, giving her his most sincere smile. “It was my fault it spilled, after all.”

He kept the smile on his face even as he pulled out his wallet, taking out a five dollar bill. She sighed again. “Medium latte,” she told him, giving in. He grinned brightly, and just as he hoped, she blushed.

“Won’t be more than a minute. Why don’t you go sit down and I’ll bring it to you?” He’d been watching her long enough to know she’d go for the gentlemanly approach, once he got past her initial hesitations. Sure enough, she gave him a hesitant smile before heading to her usual table.

Ari got in line, pleased that the first stage of his plan to bring down Agent Gibbs was going smoothly. The man wouldn’t soon forget the cost of sticking his nose into Ari’s business. He smiled as he sent a text message to his younger sister, letting her know that he would be late to pick her up after school. It wouldn’t do well to neglect his plan to destroy their father while trying to bring down Gibbs, and his half-sister played an instrumental role in that one.

Getting and keeping the trust of Kate and Ziva was the key to both plans. The coming balancing act was shaping up to be a fun one.

***

Ziva looked young, sitting at the kitchen table, a mug of hot cocoa wrapped tightly in her hands. Younger than she actually was, and the image was a sharp contrast to how she looked less than ten minutes ago.

Jethro didn’t think he would ever forget that moment, looking up the stairs to see Ziva crouched just inside the basement door, gun still up at the ready. Her eyes had been wide with shock, as if she couldn’t quite believe what she had done. For one long moment, Jethro thought she’d meant to kill him and had missed, but she’d lowered the weapon and set it on the landing, staring at the dead body on the ground.

“I had to stop him,” she had whispered. It cut through the silence louder than the gunshot had, though. A new sort of rage bubbled up inside of Jethro in that moment, not at the girl, but at her father and all the people who should have been responsible for her.

“Hey, I know I’m no gourmet, but even I can manage adding instant cocoa to hot water,” he told the girl. She looked up from the mug; her eyes were still wide, but there was no sign of tears.

“I’m sorry…”

“Never apologize. It’s a sign of weakness.” He softened his tone. “And what happened down there wasn’t your fault.”

“What will happen to me now?” she asked. Jethro was tempted to reach out and pull her into a hug the way he would have with Abby, or Kate when she had been about that age. But Ziva didn’t seem the type to take well to displays of affection.

“Now, you’ll finish that hot cocoa and you’ll go to sleep. I’ll take care of the rest.” She looked as if she wasn’t sure she could trust him or not, but after a long moment, she finally nodded her head.

It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

***

Tim really didn’t want to be here right now. No, that wasn’t entirely true; he wanted to be here, having dinner with his family, but not like _this_. But Abby had wanted to come home to meet Kate’s new boyfriend, and Pa didn’t like it when Abby took the train from Baltimore to DC by herself, which meant Tim had to go along too, even if he had an organic chemistry test he should have been studying for.

He missed having dinner with his family though. It had been rare enough before Tim and Abby had started college that fall, with the weird hours their fathers worked sometimes, and with Tony and Kate off to school already, but they’d managed, most of the time. He’d never admit it out loud, but Tim was glad that Abby had started school at the same time as him. It felt like the two of them had always done things together, even though the logical part of Tim knew it had only been a few years.

“So Timmy, got yourself a girlfriend yet?” Tony asked, interrupting the awkward silence that had fallen across the dining room after dinner had been served. Tim glared at his older brother.

“How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me Timmy, Tony? And no, I don’t have a girlfriend. I don’t have _time_ for a girlfriend. Some of us are actually taking real classes,” Tim snapped in reply. Abby looked like she was trying not to laugh and Kate looked like she was trying not to sigh or roll her eyes and Tony was just grinning the way he always did when he was purposely trying to get on Tim’s nerves.

“What classes are you taking?” Ari asked, cutting in before Tony could say something more to Tim.

“Organic chemistry, differential equations, physics, kinematics, and world literature,” Tim rattled off.

“He’s majoring in biomedical engineering,” Kate added; Tim grinned, because that was her _I’m so proud of my little brother_ tone, the one she used when Tony was being excessively annoying or Tim was having an especially bad day.

“Impressive,” was Ari’s response. “I’d like to pursue a medical degree, once my time in the Corps is up.”

Kate grinned as Dad’s eyes lit up. “Have you considered where you’d like to study?” Dad asked. Pa was staying quiet, watching Ari like he was one of his suspects. Tim had gotten that look too many times when Abby had dragged him off to some party on a Friday night that Pa hadn’t known about. Tim sort of felt bad for him.

“I’ve considered Johns Hopkins, of course, or Princeton, if I could get in,” Ari replied.

“Have you considered someplace overseas? University of Edinburgh, maybe?” Dad suggested.

Tony snickered; Dad never missed an opportunity to recommend his own alma mater to anyone even remotely interested in medicine.

“No, sir,” Ari replied. “I’m sure Edinburgh offers an excellent education, but I’d rather stay here. There’s nothing quite like a good, old-fashioned American education.”

This time, Tim had to snicker. With his neatly pressed khakis and polo shirt, Tim could almost imagine him throwing an _Aw, shucks_ into that sentence, the quintessential all-American boy. Kate kicked him under the table.

Dad let out a long-suffering sigh. “My dear boy, you can hardly call American universities ‘old-fashioned’. Edinburgh’s history stretches back to the 16th century. Did you know, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle studied at Edinburgh? And you know, when I was attending medical school there--”

“Alright, Duck, I don’t think the kid wants to hear about your college exploits,” Pa interrupted before Dad could go off on yet another one of his tangents.

Dad smiled and shrugged. “Perhaps another time, then.”

At least the awkward silence had been broken, and dinner continued about as normally as it ever did in the Gibbs-Mallard household. By the end of the night, Tim was glad Abby had dragged him home, even if he did have to listen to her _I told you so_ ’s the rest of the weekend.

***

Abby missed Kate so much it hurt. Kate had been her cool older sister, the one who made all of Abby’s friends jealous. Kate was the one who would stay up all night listening to punk rock and eating ice cream with Abby. When Pa let them, they’d go to concerts together on the weekends--sometimes bands that Abby liked, sometimes bands that Kate liked, sometimes bands that neither of them would admit to liking. It was Kate who brought Abby to the clinic to get birth control pills, Kate who Abby told about her first boyfriend, and Kate who signed the consent form so Abby could get her first tattoo.

She had a million things she still wanted to do and say to Kate, but Kate was dead and Abby couldn’t stand being in the house any more. Pa and Aunt J were busy hunting down Kate’s killer, Dad had gone straight from work to Grandma M’s house, Tony was locked away in his room, and Tim was busy trying to lose himself in a video game. The silence was too much, and Abby was going to start crying again every time she thought about how Kate wasn’t ever coming home.

Pa would scream at her later for taking the bike out without his permission, but she needed to feel the wind buffeting her as she flew down the streets, needing to get away as quickly as she could. Tim would probably yell at her too; she’d told him she was just going to the bathroom. But he’d already told her no when she asked him to go to the club with her, even though she needed this right now, needed to be surrounded by a crush of people and music loud enough to rattle her bones.

She hadn’t really expected Tim to follow her so quickly, but she’d barely been in the club for ten minutes before he was dragging her outside again.

“What were you _thinking_?” he demanded. “Pa told us to stay home!” Tim rarely rose his voice, but right now, he was shouting at Abby, and she could tell that he was barely managing to keep a panic attack at bay.

“I couldn’t just sit there any more, Tim,” she replied, feeling guilt twist at her stomach. She hadn’t meant to upset her brother so much.

“Pa’s gonna ki--” Tim cut himself off abruptly, swallowing hard. “Pa’s gonna yell at you for taking the bike, too.”

“I don’t care,” Abby said, knowing she sounded petulant, but she didn’t care about that, either. She couldn’t stop the hot tears any more, but Tim just pulled her into a tight hug, and she clung to him like she was drowning.

“Well isn’t this touching.”

Abby and Tim startled apart. Ari was standing there, _smirking_ at them, and Abby felt her skin crawl even as Tim stepped in front of her. Thankfully, he wasn’t armed, at least not that she could see. But before either of them could react, Ari was moving, and Abby was reminded that he was a _Marine_ , just like Pa, and he didn’t need a gun or a knife.

Abby backed out of the way as her brother grappled with Ari. But Tim didn’t have Ari’s training, nor Ari’s strength, and she could only watch in horror as Tim crumpled to the ground after a swift punch to the stomach. She backed further away, pulling her cell phone out, but Ari slapped it out of her hands and pushed her up against the wall.

She tried to scream, hoping someone nearby would hear, but Ari covered her mouth with one hand even as the other groped at her chest. She saw Tim getting up, his own cell phone out, and Abby could only hope Ari wouldn’t notice, that Tim would be able to do something to help her. In the meantime, she wasn’t about to just play damsel in distress, especially not when the bastard’s hand was sliding down her waist.

She bit the hand covering her mouth, as hard as she could. Ari swore, slapping her hard across the face. He didn’t get the chance to do anything worse as Tim tackled him. She wished she’d stopped to grab her knife before leaving the house, but she’d been more worried about getting away, so now she was left looking around the side street for something to use as a weapon as Ari smashed Tim’s head down hard against the pavement.

She thought she could hear Pa’s voice coming from Tim’s phone, but she couldn’t be sure, and Ari was moving towards her again, even as her brother held onto the man’s legs in an attempt to stop him.

“Run!” Tim yelled at her, but there wasn’t anywhere to run to, not with Ari blocking her escape. He was there again, hot breath on her face as he pressed her against the wall, arm against her throat this time, not quite choking her. He’d kicked his way free of Tim’s hold and Abby felt tears on her cheeks again, from fear this time instead of grief.

“Shh, don’t cry,” Ari said, almost gently, as he used the pad of his thumb to brush the tears from her cheek. She turned her head away, squeezing her eyes tightly shut as his hand wandered down her body again. He managed to get the button on her jeans undone before the wail of a siren rose over Tim’s moans of pain.

And then Ari was gone, leaving Abby to slide down the wall to the ground, too shocked and stunned to even check on her brother. All she could do was hug herself tightly, eyes still squeezed shut, before Pa and Aunt J arrived, an ambulance not far behind them.

***

The party was loud, louder than Kate usually preferred, but she had gone to concerts with Abby before, so this was far from the worst she’d experienced. Ari had vanished into the crowd somewhere though, promising to come back with a drink. So Kate stood off to the side of the crush of people, trying to avoid lecherous looks and roaming hands.

A hand grabbed her by the arm, and she almost broke the guy’s nose before realizing it was Tony. He was giving her his best Pa Look, the one that just screamed that something was wrong. But Kate didn’t want her night to end so soon. She was having fun.

“Go away, Tony,” she shouted over the music, trying to twist her arm free of his grip. He didn’t let go, though, half dragging her out of the crowded house.

“Rule Number 3, Kate--never be unreachable. Pa’s about to kill you himself,” Tony shouted in response. Kate ignored the guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach; she knew the rules, but she hadn’t been intentionally ignoring her phone. The music had just been too loud to hear it ringing.

“I can’t just leave. Ari went to get us drinks!” Tony’s expression darkened.

“Ari’s part of the gang Pa’s been investigating,” Tony said, much more quietly now that they were outside and away from the throbbing music. “We’ve been trying to call your cell for an hour.” Kate pulled her phone out of her purse, and sure enough she had a series of missed calls and text messages.

Tony pulled his own phone out. “I’ve got her,” he said tersely. She could barely make out Pa’s reply of “Don’t go anywhere.” Tony was giving Kate a look that scared her, the slightly haunted one she remembered from the time Abby had dropped her motorcycle the first time and broke her ankle, scaring all of them.

“I’m _fine_ , Tony,” she said as firmly as she could. “Nothing happened.”

“You scared the shit out of us when you didn’t answer your phone,” Tony admitted. That had to be something of an understatement, if he was telling her. It was enough to keep Kate from rolling her eyes.

“I told you where I was going. The music was too loud to hear my phone,” she replied.

“Tell that one to Pa when he gets here and see what he’s got to say,” Tony said. Kate grimaced.

“I’m never going to be allowed out of the house ever again, am I?” Tony managed a laugh, which was what Kate was hoping for. She could practically see the tension bleeding out of his shoulders, though his eyes were still scanning the crowds, and he didn’t relax completely until Pa’s Charger came screeching to a halt in front of them.

She was in _so_ much trouble...

***

Tony was pissed. He was going to kill his sister, right after he gutted that bastard Ari. Really, Kate should have known better--this was the Georgetown area, Tony’s stomping grounds, and even if he was still recovering from that nasty case of pneumonia, there was always a good chance Tony would be at a party. But there she was, necking in the corner with the guy she swore up and down she wasn’t dating any more.

Tony started pushing his way across the frat house, barely pausing to apologize. He sent a quick text message to Tim and Abby--they might just be kids, as far as he was concerned, but they were smarter than Tony by far, and he would need their help to keep Pa from finding out about this mess. He wanted Kate safe, not grounded for life.

Across the room, he saw Ari look up, saw him catch sight of Tony and make some excuse to Kate before vanishing into the crowd. Tony didn’t see which way he went, which was a shame, but something he would have to deal with later. Right now, Kate was his priority.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he asked Kate, startling her.

“Tony, what are you doing here?”

“What am _I_ doing here? Damn it, Kate, I have _friends_ in this frat. Did you really think you could go to a party here, with _Ari_ , of all people, and not get caught?” he asked angrily. Even in the dark he could see Kate’s cheeks flush.

“I’m not a child, Tony. I can take care of myself.”

“You promised Pa you wouldn’t see him any more. He’s a killer, and he’s stealing guns from the Corps to help others kill with them,” Tony snapped. This wasn’t the time or the place to be having this conversation, but anger was clouding Tony’s judgment.

“I didn’t come here with him. I came with my friend Sharon and ran into him,” Kate replied. Tony clamped down on his anger, hearing the truth in her words.

“We’re leaving.” Kate glared at him.

“No. I’ll stay away from Ari, but I’m not letting you send me to my room like I’m six. I’m 18, Tony. And I’m not leaving Sharon here alone.”

“Abby and Tim are coming with the car. You’ve got fifteen minutes to find your friend. We can drive her home if we need to.” Tony hoped Kate would listen instead of digging her heels in further; she could out-stubborn Pa sometimes, and Tony really didn’t want to get chewed out for not keeping her safe.

Luck was on his side, for once; less than a minute later, Kate’s friend came stumbling up to them, obviously drunk. Tony grimaced, hoping Sharon wasn’t going to be sick all over them.

“Alright, let’s go, outside,” he ordered, guiding the drunk teenager towards the door. Kate complied, though she didn’t look happy about it. Tony didn’t much care at the moment, especially once Sharon started puking three steps out the door. He got her to the bushes, holding her up as Kate stood and watched for their siblings.

What happened next should have been too quick to remember, but it would forever be seared into Tony’s memory. He heard the squeal of the tires, even over the music from the party. He looked up to see a car slowing down, the window rolled down to reveal the barrel of an M16. He heard the sharp staccato of the semi-automatic three-round bursts, the screams of others outside the frat house, the sound of shattering glass. He saw Kate going down, but it wasn’t a controlled fall, not how Pa had taught them to take cover.

He was too far away. She hit the ground before Tony could get Sharon to let go of him. He should have tried to get the license plate on the car, should have made sure Sharon and the others outside the party were okay, but all he could do was rush to Kate’s side.

There was blood, so much blood, on her face and chest and stomach. Instinct took over, half-remembered first aid classes filling his mind, prompting him to put pressure on the wounds. But he only had two hands, and her blood was hot on them but her eyes were glassy and distant. He knew, could feel the part of his soul ripped away, that she was already dead, but he couldn’t stop trying, not even after the ambulance showed up, not until Pa was there, wrapping a strong arm around him and pulling him back.

Kate was dead.

***

The beer was lukewarm in his hands when Pa came into his room, not even bothering to knock. Tony startled to his feet, almost dropping the bottle, and wouldn’t that have been a shame.

“Tony, this is Ziva. She’ll be staying with us for the immediate future,” Pa said, indicating the girl who had trailed into the room after him. She was maybe twelve or thirteen, with a wiry but athletic frame, wild brown hair and perceptive brown eyes. Tony stared at her and she stared back.

“Hi,” he said lamely, prompted by his father’s hard look.

“Hello,” she replied, clutching a ridiculous neon pink backpack to her chest.

Pa turned to leave. “Where are you going?” Tony asked, even as the girl asked the same thing. Pa looked amused by that--the first emotion other than pure anger Tony had seen in...well, in a long time.

“Out,” was Pa’s typical brusque response. He pointed at Tony. “You, keep an eye on her. No one leaves the house tonight. Am I clear?”

Tony swallowed hard, pushing down thoughts of Tim lying on the bed in the ER, Abby shying away from his touch. “Crystal,” he managed to reply.

And then Pa was gone, leaving Tony with a girl he knew nothing about and a bottle of lukewarm beer laced with a lethal dose of GHB.

He sighed and headed for the kitchen. “Come on,” he told Ziva. She trailed after him the same way she’d trailed after Pa, and he looked back once to see her taking in everything around her, observing with wide eyes. Tony poured the drink into the sink, watching it swirl down the drain, his hopes of escape with it.

“Why did you do that?” Ziva asked. She didn’t sound curious the same way Abby or Tim would have, or vaguely accusatory the way Ka--

“Warm beer tastes like piss,” he replied, cutting that thought off shortly. She didn’t look like she believed him, but Tony didn’t care. “Hungry?”

“No, thank you.” She sounded formal, stiff,  nothing like a young teenager should. Tony could only imagine whatever shitty situation his Pa had just pulled her out of, but he was too tired to ask questions right now.

“Suit yourself. The kitchen is always open, though I doubt you’ll find much in the fridge right now.” She didn’t make a reply this time, so Tony shrugged. He threw the now empty beer bottle into the recycling bin.

He stood in the doorway, considering what to do next. The girl was still _staring_ at him, which unsettled Tony enough that sitting there feeling sorry for himself and his missed opportunity wasn’t an option. He sighed, heading into the living room. Watching television was low on his list of things he wanted to do, but at least maybe then she would stare at the screen instead of him.

***

Jethro should have been sleeping--or at least trying to sleep--but there were too many demons right now for that. He’d have gone to the hospital to be with his family, but the David girl was asleep on the couch and he didn’t want to wake her unless it was an emergency.

So he’d retreated to the basement, to distract himself with bourbon and the steady rhythm of sanding his boat. He’d limit himself to only one glass, but it was more about the routine than anything else. His hands would be busy and his mind would be blank, and that’s all that mattered right now.

He moved across the basement towards the workbench in the far corner, where he kept his bottle of bourbon. A mason jar full of nails was up-ended to serve as a glass.

“Hello, Jethro. Do you mind if I call you Jethro?” a voice asked from the far side of the boat. Jethro froze.

“Ari,” Jethro replied, putting the bottle down as he reached for the drawer where he kept his old shotgun.

“You won’t find it,” Ari said. Jethro checked anyway; sure enough, the drawer was empty. “We’ve got a lot to talk about, and I don’t want any interruptions.”

“What do you want, Ari?”

“Haven’t you figured it out yet? I thought you were supposed to be a skilled investigator,” Ari replied. He sounded unconcerned, almost gleeful, though it was arrogant more than anything. Jethro felt a shiver go down his spine.

“You were stealing guns from the Marine Corps to give to your gang.” He sounded calmer than he felt, but this was the same feeling he had while lying on his stomach, staring down the scope of a sniper rifle, anticipating his shot.

“You should have minded your own business. Then I wouldn’t have had to kill dear Caitlin.”

“That _is_ my business,” Jethro snarled, turning to face the direction Ari was in, his anger getting the better of him for a moment. He pushed it down, knowing the bastard wanted to get a rise out of him. “You _made_ it my business, when you started stealing from the Corps.”

“Ah,  yes, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, a shining beacon of virtue in a dark, twisted world. Perhaps if you ever climbed down off that high horse of yours, you would know what it was like having to worry about paying bills and scraping together enough money to put food on the table, having to worry about drive-by shootings and rival gangs,” Ari said.

“You made your choices.”

“Oh yes, I made my choices. I chose to join the Marine Corps. My doormat of a mother might have been content to just take my father’s money, but I wasn’t content to stay in that shit hole. I chose to get out, and I chose not to let that lying, two-timing sack of shit who calls himself my father just sweep _me_ under the carpet, too. I _made_ something of myself, and I’m not about to let you or anyone else take that away from me.”

Jethro felt the urge to laugh; he didn’t stop himself. “You’re pathetic. Just another ‘banger from the ‘hood who thinks he’s hot shit. A disgrace to the Corps. No wonder your father wanted nothing to do with you.”

This time, Ari was the one laughing. He rose from where he had been squatting behind the boat, gun already in hand, pointed at Jethro. “Don’t worry, my father will get what’s coming to him, once I’m done here with you. Send my love to Caitlin for me, won’t you?”

The shot rang out before Jethro had the chance to reply.

**Author's Note:**

> Next story in the series: [Shattered Skies, Part 1: How to Train Your Puma](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/hopencis/works/210174).


End file.
